Use Antique Furniture Hardware When Authenticity Matters

When you find that a piece of your antique furniture needs to be refurbished to retain its authentic look, the best way to do so is to use antique furniture hardware during the process - this maintains the authentic look and feel of the piece and keeps its value high. Refinishing generally entails removing the existing finish and applying new stain, finish or repainting the piece. When refurbishing a piece of antique furniture, you may need to work on the wood itself, which demands using antique hardware for the best results.

Antique furniture is generally defined as being that furniture which is at least a century old. Its value depends on factors including condition, age, rarity and usability. If a piece has no real redeeming qualities, it is not an antique, no matter how old it may be. An antique can depreciate in value by replacing its antique furniture hardware with newer items; this detracts from the authentic look of the piece.

Let's take as our case study an antique tallboy dresser. These will be made of oak with handcrafted pulls. However, say this piece has been refurbished and the pulls replaced with ceramic pulls. Even if the ceramics are antique, they are not what is intended to be on this piece and as such, reduces its value.

Sometimes Difficult To Find

Depending on the age of a particular piece, it can be more or less difficult to find the right replacement parts for the antique hardware furniture of that piece. In some cases, even collectors will forgive the absence of a piece of hardware or its replacement by a newer bit of hardware. Many pieces will never have the value that they should sans the hardware appropriate to the time if its manufacture. You may need to have hardware custom made to match the piece in these cases. There are firms who specialize in this service. They will examine a piece and custom design and create the necessary hardware.

It is not cheap to have this antique furniture hardware specially made; although depending on the price of the piece with the right hardware, it may be a wise investment and even a bargain!